Famous businessman William Koch of the Koch family purchased perhaps the only existing and authentic portrait of Billy the Kid at Brian Lebel’s 22nd Annual Old West show & Auction in Denver, Colorado. Billy the Kid’s portrait is reported to be the most expensive item to be sold at the auctioning event.
Excluding the auction’s fee, the portrait was bought for 2.3 million U.S. dollars after organizers of the auction show estimated the portrait would sell for approximately $400,000 at most.
The portrait is a tintype that could have been taken in 1879 to 1880 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. the tintype portrays Billy the Kid standing with his right hand on a Winchester carbine and armed with a Colt revolver.
The tintype is speculated to have been given to a friend, Dan Dedrick by Billy the Kid himself until it came into the hands of a museum in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
Billy the Kid, otherwise known as William Henry McCarty, Henry Antrim, or William H Bonney, became one of the most notorious gunmen of the West after the Lincoln County War. Newspapers and locals often exaggerated the accounts of his deeds which ultimately led to a lack of amnesty for Billy the Kid.
Earlier this year, New Mexico’s Governor bill Richardson was faced with a choice: to pardon Billy the Kid or stick by his predecessor, Governor Wallace’s alleged promise to pardon Billy the Kid as he pardoned all those involved in the Lincoln County War.
Governor Richardson decided not to pardon Billy the Kid post-mortem.
According to legend he killed 21 men, each for the year he lived in his entire life.
At the age of 21, Billy the Kid was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett. His remains are buried in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
<a href="http://inewp.com/?p=8001tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://inewp.com/?p=8001Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:45:07 GMT 00:00″>Billy the Kid’s Portrait: Bought For $2.3 Million